Valencia - skylines and views

- Old Town, City of Arts and Sciences, Views from Torres de Serranos, Views from Ayre Hotel Astoria Palace


In the historic city centre there are no highrise buildings, but many buildings are not low either. The central skyline is dominated by the cathedral, ancient towers like Torres de Serranos and church towers. Around Plaza del Ayuntemiento, the buildings are around 10 floors tall, and the Town Hall and the Post Office for example have beautiful crowns and spires. In the outskirts you find some notable highrises. The tallest structure is
El Pont de l'Assut de l'Or, a 125m high futuristic suspension bridge at City of Arts and Sciences.

Torres de València is a skyscraper project proposed for the City of Arts and Sciences, consisting of 3 twisted glass skyscrapers 266, 220 and 308m tall. They were designed by Santiago Calatrava and resemble Malmö's Turing Torso. However, since the financial crisis in 2009, the possibility that these towers will get built is very low. But never say never...

In the East and West outskirts there are some modern shiny office buildings, but not exactly tall enough to be skyscrapers, the lowest doesn't even reach the height of the lowest one of the proposals mentioned above. The two tallest buildings in Valencia have 35 floors each - Melia Hotel (117m, built 2006, former Hilton) in the East business district and Torre de Francia (115m, built 2002) in the East outskirts. There are also about 22 buildings with 20-22 floors, most of them built in the 2000s. In the West CBD you find the Ademuz twin towers and the Torres Llaves de Oro twin towers, all four built in 2003 and 90m tall each. In the outskirts you will find the 106m tall communication tower Torre Telefonica. The outskirts are filled with modernist apartment buildings, 8-12 stories tall. In the futuristic Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències (City of Arts and Sciences), an entertainment-based cultural and architectural complex, there are some really large structures. The tallest ones are the bridge Assut de l'Or (125m, built 2008), L'Agora (86m, built 2009) and the opera house Palau de les Arts Opera (80m, built 2005), that is the world's tallest opera. Surrounding the science complex are some highrises with interesting shapes. The 22-storey Aqua Multiespacio from 2006 is one of them.

The best views we had of the skyline was from Torres de Serrano (that can be climbed for a small fee) the room of our hotel, Ayre Hotel Astoria Palace near the Town Hall Square and around the City of Arts and Sciences.

Views from the City of Arts and Sciences 01 - Torre  de Francia, Valencia's 2nd tallest skyscraper (115m, 35, built 2002) Views from the City of Arts and Sciences 02 - nearby modern apartment buildings Views from the City of Arts and Sciences 03 - Aqua Multiespacio (95m, 22 floors, b. 2002) and El Corte Ingles Views from the City of Arts and Sciences 04 - L'Oceanografic Views from the City of Arts and Sciences 05 Views from the City of Arts and Sciences 06 - Torre  de Francia, Valencia's 2nd tallest skyscraper (115m, 35, built 2002) Views from the City of Arts and Sciences 07 - Torre  de Francia, Valencia's 2nd tallest skyscraper (115m, 35, built 2002) Views from the City of Arts and Sciences 08 - Aqua Multiespacio (95m, 22 floors, b. 2002) and El Corte Ingles Views from the City of Arts and Sciences 09 Views from Torres de Serranos 29 - Menacing sky and mountains Views from Torres de Serranos 30 - Skyline of West business district Views from Torres de Serranos 31 - Melia Hotel (right), Valencia's tallest building (117m, 35 floors, built 2006 as Hilton) Views from Torres de Serranos 32 - surrounding mountains Views from Torres de Serranos 33 - typical Spanish modernist buildings Views from Torres de Serranos 34 - one of the towers Views from Torres de Serranos 35 - Old town with the cathedral in the center Views from Torres de Serranos 36 - Valencia Cathedral Views from Torres de Serranos 37 - Old Town Views from Torres de Serranos 38 - church with blue roof Views from Torres de Serranos 39 - another church with blue roof Views from Torres de Serranos 40 Views from Torres de Serranos 41 - Placa del Furs Views from Torres de Serranos 42 - Placa del Furs Views from Torres de Serranos 43 - Children playing on the rooftop Views from Torres de Serranos 05 Views from Torres de Serranos 06 Views from Torres de Serranos 07 Views from Torres de Serranos 08 - Valencia Cathedral Views from Torres de Serranos 44 Views from Torres de Serranos 45 Views from Torres de Serranos 46 - City of Arts and Sciences and Old Town Views from Torres de Serranos 09 Views from Torres de Serranos 10 - ceiling of one of the towers Views from Torres de Serranos 11 Views from Torres de Serranos 47 Views from Torres de Serranos 48 - Black clouds, but no rain Views from Torres de Serranos 49 - Skyline of West business district Views from Torres de Serranos 01 Views from Torres de Serranos 12 - stairs up to the observation platforms Views from Torres de Serranos 13 - the foot of the gate at Carrer de la Blanqueria Views from Torres de Serranos 14 Views from Torres de Serranos 15 - North of city center, Turia Gardens Views from Torres de Serranos 02 Views from Torres de Serranos 03 - Placa del Furs Views from Torres de Serranos 04 - stairway to the observation point Views from Torres de Serranos 16 Views from Torres de Serranos 17 - ground seen through the glass Views from Torres de Serranos 18 - the busy Carrer de la Blanqueria Views from Torres de Serranos 19 - Jardine de Turia, former river Views from Torres de Serranos 20- the busy Carrer de la Blanqueria Views from Torres de Serranos 21 Views from Torres de Serranos 22 Views from Torres de Serranos 23 - double decked tour bus Views from Torres de Serranos 24 Views from Torres de Serranos 25 - sports activities on the roof Views from Torres de Serranos 26 - City of Arts and Sciences and Old Town Views from Torres de Serranos 27 - red buses at one of the bridges above Turia Gardens Views from Torres de Serranos 28 Views from Hotel Astoria Palace 01 - Old Town Views from Hotel Astoria Palace 02 - City of Arts and Sciences Views from Hotel Astoria Palace 03  - Old Town Views from Hotel Astoria Palace 04  - Old Town Views from Hotel Astoria Palace 06 - Plaça de l'Ajuntament Views from Hotel Astoria Palace 07 - Plaça de l'Ajuntament with the Post Office spire in the front Views from Hotel Astoria Palace 08 - Banco de Valencia Views from Hotel Astoria Palace 09 - Old Town Views from Hotel Astoria Palace 10 Views from Hotel Astoria Palace 11 Views from Hotel Astoria Palace 12 Views from Hotel Astoria Palace 13 Views from Hotel Astoria Palace 14 Views from Hotel Astoria Palace 15 Views from Hotel Astoria Palace 16 Views from Hotel Astoria Palace 17 Views from Hotel Astoria Palace 18 Views from Hotel Astoria Palace 19 - City of Arts and Sciences Views from Hotel Astoria Palace 20 City Centre from Estació del Nord